Buckow

Buckow
View from Buckowsee
Coat of arms
Buckow
Location of Buckow within Märkisch-Oderland district
Coordinates: 52°34′N 14°05′E / 52.567°N 14.083°E / 52.567; 14.083Coordinates: 52°34′N 14°05′E / 52.567°N 14.083°E / 52.567; 14.083
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Märkisch-Oderland
Municipal assoc.	Märkische Schweiz
Government
• Mayor	Thiemo Seelig (CDU)
Area
• Total	14.31 km2 (5.53 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	1,510
• Density	110/km2 (270/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	15377
Dialling codes	033433
Vehicle registration	MOL
Website	www.buckow-online.de

Buckow (Märkische Schweiz) is a town in the Märkisch-Oderland district, in Brandenburg, Germany. The water cure resort is the administrative seat of the Amt (municipal association) Märkische Schweiz and located in the centre of the eponymous hill range, since 1990 part of the Märkische Schweiz Nature Park protected area.

Buckow is located about 8 km (5.0 mi) northwest of Müncheberg and 45 km (28 mi) east of the Berlin city centre. The town is situated in a glacial trough between the Berlin Urstromtal in the southwest and the Oder Valley in the northeast, crossed by the Stobber River with its source in the Rotes Luch lowland. The trough comprises several lakes, of which Schermützelsee west of the town centre is the largest.

The town arose at the site of a former Slavic (Wendish) settlement which according to archaeological findings possibly arose in the mid 9th century, its name referring to the Slavic: buk, "beech". The Märkische Schweiz area was part of Lubusz Land held by Prince Mieszko I of Poland in the late 10th century, which later formed the northwestern part of the Duchy of Silesia. In 1224 the Piast duke Henry I the Bearded granted large estates to the Cistercian monks of Lubiąż (Leubus) and Trzebnica (Trebnitz) Abbey and had the lands settled with German-speaking colonists.